electron shell

Atomic orbitals

Electrons fill in shell and subshell levels in a semiregular process, as indicated by the arrows above. After filling the first shell level (with just an s subshell), electrons move into the second level s subshell and then into the p subshell, before starting on another shell level. Because of its lower energy state, the 4s orbital fills before the 3d, and similarly for later s orbitals (for example, 6s fills before 4f).